Former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick has spoken out on potential transfer targets for his former club.
The Red Devils have spent big on a number of high-profile signings in recent years, with mixed success, as the likes of Bruno Fernandes have shone, while others like Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez ended up flopping.
United will no doubt be linked with big names again at the end of this season, with there already being some talk of Jadon Sancho once again, as the Daily Mirror cite Sport1 as saying Borussia Dortmund may need to sell him to make up for the money they’ve lost due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Another England international recently linked with Man Utd is West Ham’s Declan Rice, with ESPN naming them as being among his suitors.
And United fans were urging their club to pounce after reports from The Athletic yesterday that seemed to rule rivals Chelsea out of the running for Rice.
Chadwick is unsure if MUFC particularly need the 22-year-old right now, however, telling CaughtOffside: “He’s an extremely talented player, he’s done brilliantly for West Ham and got himself in the England team. He looks a great personality, a real natural leader.
“I think he’s maybe in a similar mould to Scott McTominay, quite similar in what they offer. I think United are in a good place in that central area, with Fred playing the best football of his United career, the emergence of McTominay, Pogba being more effective.
“Having said that, if top players become available you want United to be there or thereabouts so I wouldn’t be against the club signing him, but I can’t see anything happening in this transfer window.
“I wouldn’t say Rice would be someone to take them to the league title. At the same time, I think he’d be a great addition to any squad in the Premier League.”
When asked if he’d like to see United break the bank for Sancho, Chadwick was also unsure, and suggested doing so for his Dortmund team-mate Erling Haaland instead.
“He’s a hugely gifted young player but he’s not had a great season. Reports suggest he was disappointed he didn’t get the move to United in the summer, so it looks like there will be an opportunity there. The coronavirus will have caused a lot of damage to the majority of clubs across Europe.
“Would I break the bank for him? Probably not, with the emergence of Mason Greenwood, and Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial playing there. I’d certainly break the bank to sign Erling Haaland, if that opportunity was there, obviously he’s worked with Solskjaer before.
“Jadon Sancho would of course add to the squad, but maybe the price that was being branded around last year would have to come down a bit for it to make good business sense for United.”